For Once In My Life
by The Zeta Rho Twins
Summary: Modern AU: Anna and Kristoff are fresh out of college, and looking to buy a house just off the coast of Miami. What chaos ensues when they find out that it's one of Anna's closest yet estranged friends, Elsa, and her suspiciously kind boyfriend that they'll be living with? (Elsanna in later chapters) Rated T for abuse and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, everybody! So, this is our first story that we've written together, and for me, Ruby, my first story to be published on Fanfiction. We started working on this about a month ago (I believe it started with a video of a British guy making a fake proposal for a sequel to Frozen (you can find the link to said video in our bio)), and we're very excited to finally be publishing it. Don't forget to review when you're done with this chapter and tell us what you think! Anyways, we hope you enjoy!**  
><strong><span>Disclaimer<span>: We did not, do not, and will not own Frozen, its characters or anything associated with it. Ever. Except this story! And any other story we may write at some point. And any Ocs we may create. And-Yeah, you get the point.**

**P.S.: We don't own the cover art of this story, so if anyone knows who the artist is, please let us know so we can give them the credit!**

**1.**

_"Do you really have to go? Like, are you a hundred and ten percent- no, a thousand percent positive you can't stay for a little while longer? Why don't you take a gap year? Everyone does it. You can stay here with me, and it'll be so much fun! Pleeeease…?"_

_"Anna…" Elsa's voice was small, and it sounded like she was pleading the younger girl. She knew it was going to be like this._

_"Elsa, please? It's not like you'll fall behind on your studies or anything... You're so smart, you'll most likely end up graduating earlier than you're supposed to!" Anna was pleading now. She had sworn to herself that she would keep her cool, and she wouldn't act like that. Not when she knew how hard it would be for Elsa as well; but she couldn't help it. They knew each other ever since she could remember. Elsa was her closest friend, and she was pretty sure that the older girl didn't have any other friends. She couldn't just leave like that._

_"Anna…" Elsa repeated, this time a little louder. "You said you wouldn't do this, remember? You know it's hard for me too, and you're not making things easier. And anyway, it's only college. It's not like I'll be moving to the other side of the world." She smiled warmly, and she placed her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "We'll still talk all the time, okay? And I'll visit you as often as I can. Maybe you can visit me as well some time." It was Anna's turn to smile now. The younger girl nodded, her eyes shining with unshed tears, and she pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Hey, Little Red, don't cry, okay?" Elsa hushed her, stroking her hair. "Listen, before I go, I've got something for you." Anna lifted her head, her eyes filled with curiosity as her friend rummaged around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a thick, leather-bound book with gold embossing. 'Grimms' Fairy Tales,' it read in large script. _

_"Oh Elsa..." Anna shook her head as she ran a finger along the binding. "Elsa, you didn't have to-"_

_"Open it up."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Open it up," she repeated, nodding towards the book. Obeying, the younger girl flipped open the front gently, only to find a message written for her on the inside cover._

"Sometimes people leave you

Halfway through the wood.

Others may deceive you,

You decide what's good.

You decide alone,

But no one is alone…

-Love, your Elsie" _She read silently, looking up at Elsa, who sent her a watery smile as she finished. _

_"I'm gonna miss you, Elsie!" exclaimed Anna as she threw her arms around Elsa, and she tightened her grip around the blonde girl's waist._

_"I'm gonna miss you too, Little Red. So much." Elsa placed her hand behind Anna's head, and gently ran her fingers through the girl's hair._

_"I'm gonna call you, okay?" asked Anna as she broke the hug, and took a small step back, whipping a single tear that was running down her cheek. She had a big smile on her face, but it seemed forced; it didn't reach her eyes. Elsa simply nodded, not even trying to copy the redhead's expression, since she knew perfectly well that her attempts would be in vain._

**~Present Day~**

"We did it! God dammit, we finally did it!" Kristoff's excited voice brought Anna back from her daydreaming. The girl blinked, and let out a happy squeal, her previous thoughts put away in the back of her mind.

"I know!" exclaimed the girl, who was now jumping up and down slightly, her face split by a huge smile. "This is amazing! We are finally free. No more early classes… No more studying… No more exams…"

"No more Mr. Wesselton…" Kristoff chipped in, making Anna giggle and nod.

"No more Mr. Wesselton… Ahh… It feels so good to be out of this place! You know, college is good and everything, but man! I would _not_ want to go through all this again!"

"People say that college years are the best in a person's life though."

"Yeah, people who don't know how to live the rest of their lives! I guarantee you Kristoff, what lies ahead will be _so_ much better! Now come on. I'm buying us coffee! And treats. We need to celebrate," Anna kept talking as she dragged her boyfriend by the hand.

"Where are we going? I thought the coffee shop was that way," asked Kristoff a few moments later, pointing to the opposite direction from the one they were headed.

"New place. Found it yesterday. That's all you need to know," replied Anna cryptically, and winked at him over her shoulder. Kristoff sighed and widened his strides so that he wouldn't have to be dragged by Anna anymore.

"You always find some new place, and then we always end up not going there more than once," he pointed out when they were side by side, their fingers intertwined.

"It's different this time," she said matter-of-factly.

"You also always say that," Kristoff teased, and Anna elbowed him playfully, maybe miscalculating the strength she used a little as the boy winced in pain. "You're way too strong for someone your size." It wasn't the first time he'd said that, and it wasn't the first time Anna had blushed and apologized, saying she'd be more careful next time. Kristoff laughed and shook his head like he always did, and kept walking, his girlfriend following close behind.

"Anyways," she said and grabbed his hand once again, "this place is really nice! And cute, and sooo pretty! You're gonna love it!"

"_I'm_ gonna love it or _you're_ gonna love it?" asked the blond with a smirk.

"Oh, I already love it!" came Anna's response, and Kristoff chuckled. Her enthusiasm over the simplest of things was simply adorable.

Ten minutes of walking and five minutes of waiting in line later, and Anna and Kristoff were sitting at a small table by the window of what was probably, as Kristoff had to agree, the cutest little coffee shop.

Anna was in the middle of devouring what Kristoff was assuming to be her third chocolate muffin, her eyes gleaming in amusement and content, while he was drinking a cup of black coffee, and eating a slice of a heavenly-tasting lemon meringue pie. The two tried holding a conversation, but, since it was one-sided as all the red-haired girl did was nod and mumble incoherencies between bites, they decided to wait until they were done before having a decent discussion.

"Done!" Anna sighed contently as she sat back and wiped her mouth. "I could get used to this…"

"You mean you're not used to it already?" asked Kristoff jokingly, earning a half-mad glare from his girlfriend, who laughed a moment later.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asked, smiling.

"Well, first things first- how's the book search coming?" he asked, and her face immediately fell at that.

"Um... Not good," she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"Hey, it's alright. We're gonna find it, okay?" he promised, lifting her chin up.

"I hope so..."

"I _know_ so," he promised. "Anyways," the blond continued, "I was thinking the other day, and I realized that we kinda need a house, you know that, right? We can't stay in that hotel for too long. It's way too expensive, and we don't have a lot of money. Plus, it'll be nice to have a place to call our own, you know?" Anna nodded in response, the gears in her mind already working to try and find a solution.

"I could get a second job…" she suggested, shrugging slightly, but she could see that Kristoff would have none of it.

"You already have a job, and I don't. If anyone's getting a job, it should definitely be me," he simply stated, and Anna knew that would be the end of that discussion.

"Didn't you used to work at the movie theater before you started college?" Kristoff nodded, sipping from his cup slowly. "You think you can go back and start working there again?" she was aware that he couldn't just walk up to his former employers and simply resume his work, but it worth a try.

"Yeah… I don't think that can happen. I didn't leave on the best of terms, you know..."

"Right…" muttered the girl, her lips pursed together in thought. "What if we look for roommates? That can work, right? Like, until we are financially stable enough to buy our own place." Kristoff nodded. That actually wasn't a bad idea at all.

"Okay," he said, "finding roommates it is then. Question is… Where do we find roommates?" Anna looked at him with an amused look on her face.

"You seriously don't know how to get a roommate?" she asked, trying to hide a laugh. "We'll just check the ads on the paper, silly! There's always someone looking for roommates! Okay, hold on!" she exclaimed as she suddenly got up and practically ran out of the coffee shop, leaving a very confused Kristoff behind.

A little over five minutes later, an out of breath looking Anna made her way back inside and plopped on her seat.

"Here," she said tossing a newspaper at her still pretty confused boyfriend. "If we want to get things done, we better start now." She opened her own newspaper to the ads section and started scanning the page, mumbling occasionally. Kristoff blinked a couple of times, taking in what had just happened, but he thought it best not to question his girlfriend. He picked the newspaper that was tossed at him, and started reading the ads.

"Too small… Too noisy… Too many cats… Too isolated…" Anna kept commenting on the houses she came across, never managing to find one that seemed right. Kristoff on the other hand didn't have such high standards. He kept reading and marking every house or apartment that wasn't suffering from a roach infestation or that wasn't inhabited by a forty-year old man.

"Okay, let's see what you've got!" exclaimed Anna after a while, and snatched the newspaper right out of the boy's hands, ignoring his annoyed "hey!" as she did so. "Kristoff, really? You've circled every single house! We're not making any progress like that," she huffed as she reviewed Kristoff's choices. "Did you even read what you were marking?" she asked a minute later.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh. Okay. So what makes you think that it would be a good idea for us to move in with an unwed mother of two in her two bedroom apartment? Because I'm dying to hear that."

"That was probably marked by mistake. You get snappy when you're not happy about something," he muttered.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this here. What do you say we go back to the hotel and review everything together?" Anna asked, ignoring Kristoff's comment about her being snappy.

"Sure. We can-"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait. This one's perfect!" she exclaimed, and blushed slightly when she realised she had spoken in a louder voice than intended. She mumbled a quick apology to the people around her, and turned to her boyfriend. "It's also the only one you didn't circle."

"I must've had a reason to do that."

"Whatever, just listen to this. Two bedrooms, three bathrooms, one guest room, kitchen, living room, garage… Right next to the beach… It's perfect I'm telling you! And it's actually a couple living there, and it says that they'd prefer if they could live with another couple. This is _so_ meant to be!" Kristoff, despite being amused by his girlfriend's enthusiasm, still had his doubts.

"Maybe I didn't mark this because it's a couple looking for another couple. Things can get real weird real quick if you know what I mean."

Anna let out an annoyed sigh, "Shut up, Kristoff. Nothing's gonna happen. I'm calling and that's final."

"Maybe we should go by our original plan of reviewing everything back at the hotel," he suggested. "Fine. Go ahead and call. Don't be surprised when I say 'I told you so' though. Cause I will say that, just so you know," he added when he saw Anna glaring at him. The redhead's glare turned into a big smile in no time, and she fished out her phone from her pocket. She dialed the number, placed the phone to her ear, and waited impatiently.

"Hello?" her eyes lit up when a female voice was heard from the other end of the line.

"Yes, hi! My name is Anna Redford, and I was wondering if the house is still available? You know, from the ad? My boyfriend and I would really like to take a look, we're very interested! You see, we just got out of college, and we're looking for a place to stay. I mean we're living at this hotel now, but-"

"What did you say your name was?" the voice interrupted Anna's rambling.

"Um… Anna Redford… Why?" There was a pause on the other end. "Hello?"

"A-Anna?" now the voice was small, almost inaudible, and the was a hint of hesitation to it.

"Yeah…? Who-Who is this?" Anna was starting to feel nervous. Who was that girl? She hated to admit it, but maybe Kristoff was right all along. Maybe this wasn't a very good idea.

"It's-It's me…" the voice said. "Elsa…"

**A/N: Thank you for reading! Let us know what you think :) (make Ruby happy by leaving a review. It's her first published story after all :P)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, everybody! The Zeta Rho Twins here! We just wanted to thank you for all your reviews and positive feedback on the first chapter. (it made me, Ruby, very very happy!) It really motivates us to write more, so keep 'em coming! Before we go on with the chapter, just a couple of thing about the story that were not mentioned on chapter one:  
>-The title of the story was inspired by Stevie Wonder's song of the same name. Go give it a listen if you want, if Frozen was set in the present day, it would actually be a very suitable song :P<br>-Also, every chapter will begin with a flashback scene until we have the entire back story down. So _italics_ in the beginning of a chapter mean flashback! What else...  
><strong>**-Oh! The ages of the characters are a little different (poetic licence and whatnot :P), Elsa and Kristoff being 24, Anna 21, and our dear Hans 26. I think that's all actually... **

**Anyways, without further adieu, we present chapter two! (hey, that rhymed! :P)**

**Disclaimer: Frozen and everything associated with it belongs to its rightful owners! We are just borrowing the characters in order to (very carefully) play with them!**

**2.**

_"You need to get over that Redford girl, Els," declared Meg upon seeing Elsa's deflated behavior since they arrived. The young blonde's mood had been plummeting from the moment she had set foot to the college grounds, and as time went by it only got worse._

_"Huh?" the blonde asked unenthusiastically, her eyes never rising from the book in front of her._

_"Okay, y'know what? You need to get out more. Remember Kai from high school? Kid's throwing a party down at The Trading Post. We're going."_

_"Woah, woah, woah, slow down, what?!" Elsa shot up from the bed. She was never a big fan of any sort of gatherings, especially parties, and Meg was very well aware of that._

_"Party. Tonight. The Trading Post. Ten o'clock. We're going," the brunnette repeated, and before her roommate could protest any further she left, slamming the door behind her._

_A few hours (and drinks) later found Elsa disorientedly weaving her way through the rest of the students crowding the bar, having long forgotten Anna (and Meg, for that matter). Her vision swam and her ears rang, but she paid that no attention. She paused for a minute, pressing a hand to her head in an attempt to stop the throbbing most likely caused by the low, rumbling bass and synth that most of the other people here would consider music. Suddenly, just as she was about to reach her destination, Elsa was felt someone bumping (dancing?) into her, nearly sending her crashing into the counter of the bar. Before such chaos ensued though, a pair of hands slipped under her arms and supported her, helping her back up to her feet. _

_"Hey there, Blondie, you okay?" a tall redheaded boy asked her, spinning her around to face him._

_"Um... Yeah, I'm fine..." she trailed off, the alcohol taking a more effective toll on her, rendering the man at least ten times more attractive (in Elsa's opinion, at least). Before she could find the words to elaborate, the young man extended his hand in front of her._

_"Hans Resnekov." _

_"Elsa..." the blonde said. "Slone. Elsa Slone," she added hastily, blinking a couple of times, before shaking his hand firmly._

_"Say, Elsa, why don't I take you up to my room? You can get yourself cleaned up there," Hans suggested, slicking his hair back with one hand, offering the other for her to take._

_"That's alright, my room isn't far from he-" she started. Hans wiggled his eyebrows at her, and, finally catching on, she agreed. "Okay, then," she said, giggling as Hans led her out of the bar, their arms linked, and the alcohol in her system taking away her last bit of clear-headedness._

**~Present Day~**

"O-Okay. Yes, of course. Tomorrow? Yeah, okay. Bye." Anna lowered the phone from her ear and put it in the front pocket of her jeans, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The phone call couldn't have been more than five minutes long, and yet it felt like hours to the young redhead.

The moment the girl in the other line had identified herself, Anna had stood up abruptly, surprising even herself when she didn't actually drop the phone or made a general fool of herself, and had started pacing nervously up and down. All Kristoff could do was watch as his girlfriend talked on the phone with an expression that was hard to read, and a very hushed tone of voice; almost as if she was afraid to speak. Her back, which had been straight as a board from the moment she begun pacing, was now hunched forward, like a burden had been placed upon her shoulders.

The girl slumped on her chair and looked over at Kristoff, her eyes missing some of the shine they had been bearing until then. "So that happened," she muttered.

"And… What exactly is '_that'_?"

"Do you realize who this was? Whose house we're gonna be sharing?"

"No, I don't, and woah! Slow down, feisty pants. We're not sharing anyone's house yet."

"That was Elsa, Kristoff! Elsa!" Kristoff was relieved to see his girlfriend returning to her usual, bubbly self.

"Wait, _the _Elsa?" he asked, knowing full well the impact Anna and Elsa's separation had had on the young redhead.

"Yes! _The _Elsa!" she exclaimed, pushing the urge to add 'my Elsa' to the back of her mind.

"You seem way too excited for someone who hasn't spoken to her friend in four years, since, and I quote, an epicly huge fight."

"Don't you see? This is my chance to apologize; to make everything right again! I mean, she said some things, I said some things, and, obviously, I have forgiven her, but we never got the chance to talk after that day. Not for lack of trying, let me tell you that, because I called, and I messaged, and I texted, and nothing. Not a word from her… I even thought of writing her a letter at one point. Oooh! What if she's still mad at me? What if _I'm_ still mad at her and I haven't realized? What if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore? Well, if that's the case, then I don't wanna be _her _friend either! Cause I'm telling you, Kristoff, if she-"

"Anna! People are looking," the blond interrupted his girlfriend's monologue as he pulled out his wallet. "Let's just pay, go back to the hotel, and we can sort everything out there, okay?" he threw Anna a questioning look when he saw her glaring at him. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Paying?"

"What part of 'I'm buying us coffee and candy' didn't you get?" she asked, placing her hand over his own. "My treat, and that's final." Kristoff chuckled at the statement, and put his wallet back in his pocket. There was no use arguing with her.

**…**

"I still can't believe you managed to convince me to go see that damned house," Kristoff muttered as the couple drove down the road, on their way to Elsa's house. Anna flashed him a wide, toothy smile, accompanied by a smug look. Convincing Kristoff, though not an easy task by any means, had been easier than Anna had originally expected. All it really took was a sweet smile from the girl, a couple of batted eyelashes, and a promise of a nice, generous slice of homemade carrot cake, and the young man was sold.

"It's because you love me," replied Anna in her sweetest, most innocent voice.

"Nope. No, that's not it…"

"Oh, sure it is!" Anna chuckled. "Take a left here," she instructed a second later.

"Taking a left here will set us back at least an hour," Kristoff informed, showing no intention of turning.

"No, it won't! It's actually a pretty convenient shortcut, see?" Anna shoved the map she had been studying in her boyfriend's face, causing him to stir a little.

"What the hell, Anna? Get that out of my face!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide, and his hands clutching the steering wheel.

"Well, sorry," mumbled the girl as she sat back on her seat, folding the map, and propping her legs on the dash.

"Woah, hey! Get your feet down! I just washed it!" the blond exclaimed, swatting Anna's legs away.

The girl rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Okay, you have attachment issues with you car. You need help," she retorted, but removed her feet from the dash anyway. She knew how Kristoff was about his precious car. "You're gonna miss the turn," she murmured a second later, earning a glare from Kristoff, who made a left sighing.

"Just know, that if we're stuck in traffic for four hours, I'm blaming you," he stated, and chuckled when Anna stuck her tongue out at him.

**…**

Kristoff brought the car to a sudden halt, muttering under his breath. "Three hours," he turned to look at the girl next to him. "It's been three hours, Anna! I knew we shouldn't have turned there. Look where that got us. We're lost, three hours behind schedule, and to top that off, we-"

"Kristoff! I know it was a stupid idea, and I know you're 'blaming me'," Kristoff rolled his eyes at Anna's use of air-quotes, and attempt to imitate his voice, "but _please_, shut. Up. You get so grumpy when you're driving for a long time... Do you wanna take a break? The map says that there's a burger joint not too far from here."

"No!" he exclaimed pulling the map away from Anna's hands. "No more reading your map. No more trusting you with a map," the man declared, and Anna let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, fine. Do you at least wanna switch? I could drive for a while, and you can just lie down on the back seats. You know, get some rest… Sleep… Stop talking…"

"I'll choose to ignore your last comment, but I _will _take you up on your offer. I could use some shut eye…" came young man's reply as he looked over at his girlfriend who smiled warmly at him. "I'll just pull over at the next rest stop, and we'll switch, okay?"

Anna nodded, "Well, since there's a rest stop, we could also stop to grab a bite to eat? I'm getting pretty hungry..."

"I told you we should have eaten breakfast at the hotel."

"And spend ten bucks on milk and cereal?! Yeah, right! I like to spend my money wisely, you know," Anna stated matter-of-factly, and Kristoff couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course you do. The dog food you bought the other day was such a wise purchase. You know, for our nonexistent dog."

"Shut up, Kristoff! It was for the dog that hangs out around the hotel. The one that I feed every day. You know I'm an animal lover!"

"Uh huh, right. I know," the blond boy smirked, rolling his eyes ever so slightly.

"Shut up..." Anna said again, crossing her arms and huffing.

"Okay, okay, you know I'm just kidding," he defended. "Now, I don't know how we got here -direction wise _or_ conversation wise- but I think what we need right now is some food or something, 'kay? We're not too far from the city now, and if you throw out that god damned map, we'll get there even quicker." The redhead paused, pondering his proposal.

"...M'kay," she agreed hesitantly after a moment. "Um..." she whipped out her phone, tapping away at it furiously. "There's some place called 'The Brisket Biscuit' like, three miles from here... Assuming that's what it sounds like, are you good with that?" she stated after a while, putting the whole conversation she and Kristoff had had behind her.

"Fine by me," Kristoff agreed, sitting up in his seat, and cracking his knuckles.

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Anna exclaimed, her voice muffled by the sound of the engine roaring to life.

**…**

Anna stirred at the feeling of someone nudging her shoulder, but she refused to open her eyes. Sure, the girl always was an (overly) energetic person, but sometimes her enthusiasm was too much for even her to handle. So now, having stayed up all night had finally caught up with her, and she was determined to get as much sleep as possible before her and Kristoff arrived at their destination. No way was she going to let Elsa see her with bags under her eyes, and no color on her cheeks. That was no way to make a good impression.

Anna swatted the invading hand away, and turned slightly to her side, facing the window. Her idea of switching seats with Kristoff was good, but it had only worked for an hour and a half, after which the redhead had woken her boyfriend from his slumber, declaring she was too tired to drive, and that, much to his content, she couldn't read the 'freaking map from hell'. It had taken exactly ten minutes for the girl to fall asleep, car rides would always lull her to sleep faster than she could blink.

"Anna…" a voice was heard from the end of the tunnel Anna had been currently in, but the girl ignored it. Whatever it was, it could wait. "Anna," the familiar voice came again, this time accompanied by a not-so-soft nudge. The redhead let out an annoyed sigh as she turned even more to her side. "Anna, there's a chocolate store just around the corner." Anna's body shot up, and her eyes snapped open, looking around.

"Where?" she asked excitedly, but her smile faltered when she heard the chuckle from the man next to her. "There better be chocolate, Kristoff!" Another chuckle. "There's no chocolate, is there? I'm gonna kill you," huffed the girl, pouting her lips slightly.

"We're almost there," stated the man, and that's all it took for the smile to return to Anna's lips in full force. It didn't linger for too long though. Her joy was quickly replaced by apprehension and uncertainty. What if Elsa hadn't forgiven her? What if she didn't actually want to see her, and was only doing this because of that stupid ad? '_If that's the case, couldn't she just say that the house was no longer available though? Curse my confusing thoughts!'_

"I think it's that blue house by the beach," came Kristoff's voice, snapping the young redhead from her thoughts. Her head whipped towards the direction the man had nodded to, her eyes settling on a big sky blue beach house, with a white staircase that went all the way up to the balcony. '_No wonder they want housemates. This place is huge!' _

"Woah…" she breathed as she stared at the building, taking in every little detail. "Kris, this is amazing…" her voice was quiet as her eyes still marvelled the house in front of her. '_Elsa did quite good for herself! Wait- Elsa?'_ There, standing behind the closed French door, and half-hidden behind a curtain, stood a platinum blonde girl Anna thought she would never have the chance (or pleasure) of seeing again. The redhead's eyes grew even bigger as she realized that it was in fact Elsa standing there, and her eyes were not playing tricks on her.

"Elsa…!" The girl jumped slightly up and down in her seat, unable to contain her enthusiasm, thoughts of Elsa not wanting to be around her vanishing in an instant.

"Calm down, feisty pants," laughed Kristoff as he pulled over and killed the engine. That was the signal for Anna to open the passenger door, and practically dive out of the car, already making her way to the house, before her boyfriend even had the chance to unclasp his seatbelt.

"Come on, Kristoff!" she exclaimed as she reached the bottom of the staircase.

"I don't really think that's how we're supposed to go inside…" commented they young blond, appearing next to the girl.

"Probably not," she agreed. "But then how _are _we supposed to go inside?"

"Why not try this way?" came the softest voice Anna ever had the pleasure to hear, causing her to take a sharp breath. '_This is it...'_

**A/N: Uh... Dun dun duuuun? :P Hope you guys liked it! Let us know what you thought :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, everybody!**

**...Um... *tugs collar* Well. First of all, WE'RE BACK! We're back, and we're not dead! It's great to be back! Second of all, WE'RE SORRY. We did ****_not intend_**** for that pit of hiatus to last this long, and we weren't planning on going on hiatus so soon. So we're sorry for that cliffhanger back in chapter two, and we're sorry for leaving, but on the bright side, we've got a nice, loooong chapter for you! We hope you like it, and I think we can safely say that we won't be going on hiatus again any time soon (hopefully). So, if you can remember what happened last time: Chapter three! (also, thank you so, ****_so much_**** for all your follows and reviews! We're kinda surprised you stuck with us, but we're not complaining. So again, hope you enjoy, and don't forget to tell us what you thought!)**

**Disclaimer: We still don't own Frozen! Dammit...**

**Oh, and, to reply to a review about whether Elsa still has her powers, seeing as this is a mAU fic and everything, no, Elsa does not have icy magic running through her veins. She's completely ordinary. In the best way :P**

**3.**

_Hans stirred in his sleep, a shaft of light cast over him as he tightened his arms around Elsa, who was beginning to wake as well. A moment of blankness startled him for a moment, and he stared at the tangle of blonde hair in front of him, but remembered the previous night with a smirk a moment later and resumed his slumber. It wasn't very long, however, before Elsa awoke completely, blinking against the sunlight. _

"_G'morning, Queenie," he smiled, eyes still closed, rolling his head around to kiss her neck. She lay there for a moment, twitching her nose as she rubbed her eyes with one hand, pausing to prop herself up against the headboard groggily, and stare at him as if he'd gone mad._

"_Queenie…? Wha-" Elsa scanned the room, her expression contorted into something between confusion and concern. "...This... Isn't my room. What happened?" The sudden change in scenery gave her a start, warding off any and all chances of falling back asleep she might've had. _

"_You don't remember?" the man said in mock offense. "Hans, remember? We met at the Trading Post…? Last night."_

"_Hans..." she tested the name out, squeezing her eyes shut, and shook her head once she found that she could place the name. _

"_The one and only!" he scoffed. Elsa sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose._

"_Oh god... Hans, I- whatever happened, you know, last night... That was a mistake, okay? I- I'm sorry, but- that's all this is. I was obviously drunk, and-" she scrambled off the bed, turning away from him as she pulled her shirt down over her head, "I- uh, I should go..." she pointed to the door weakly, trailing off upon seeing that his expression had not changed. _

"_Stay."_

"_...I'm sorry?"_

"_Stay," he repeated, grabbing her wrist._

"_Hans... I'm sorry, I don't- I don't think that's a good idea. Listen, I've got classes tomorrow, a-and work to finish, so if you don't mind-"_

"_Oh, but I do," he grinned, Cheshire Cat style,_ _sending chills up her spine._

"_Hans-" she squeaked._

"_Listen here, Elsie," he said through gritted teeth, whispering in her ear, "I'm afraid you're gonna have to, ah, stay here, you got that? Because you-" he tapped her on the nose with his forefinger, "-you have spunk, Elsa. I could use a girl like you._ _And the things you were willing to do! My god!_" _He shook his head, clicking his tongue_. "_So, what d'ya say?_" _he took a step closer. "__Come on, it can't be all that bad here with me, can it?"_

"_Hans, you- you're obviously hungover; you're not thinking straight. Let me go." __his eyes gleamed at Elsa, and his grip around her arms grew tighter as she__ tried to pull away__._

"_Ooh. I don't think so, Queenie," he pouted playfully, "you're staying here. With me. And if you leave, Queenie, then, ah, there's gonna be..." he bit his lip, shrugging his shoulders energetically. "...Hm. Well, there's gonna be consequences. You get what I'm saying?" Elsa nodded shakily stunned, __and __swallow__ed_ _hard. _

"_Good. Now, you should, ah, go get your stuff, 'cause you're gonna be here awhile, remember?" he raised his eyebrows, twisting her wrist ever so slightly before releasing her, laughing a true, genuine laugh to himself as she scurried out of the room. _

**~Present Day~**

"Elsa..." Anna said breathlessly, releasing Kristoff's hand, not realising how tightly she had been gripping it. She stared at the blonde girl in the doorway, speechless, motionless, as if what she was seeing wasn't real.

"Hi," the blonde said, chuckling slightly both from disbelief, and at her friend, whose mouth was hanging open in surprise and awe.

Anna blinked a couple of times, and took a cautious step forward. "I- Elsa- but- would it be awkward if I hugged you?" she blurted out, and, even though she was embarrassed for having said that out loud, the lopsided, goofy grin that greeted her was entirely worth it.

"Not at all." Suddenly Anna found herself wrapped in Elsa's arms, resting her head against the older girl's shoulder.

"I missed you, Elsie," she sniffed, squeezing the taller girl in her arms.

"I missed you too, Little Red. So much." A little sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob escaped the redhead's lips at the sound of her old nickname being used again. She used to pretend to be annoyed when Elsa called her that, but oh how she had missed it.

Meanwhile, Kristoff stood there, not quite sure what to do for a few minutes, until Elsa locked eyes with him, broke free from Anna's embrace, and cleared her throat.

"Now," the blonde started as she ran a hand over her braid. "Are you gonna introduce me, or no?" she asked in mock reprimand.

"Wha- oh! Right! Sorry, Kris," Anna shot up, apologizing shallowly. "Elsa, this is Kristoff. Kristoff, Elsa." The blond boy extended his hand, and she shook it firmly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Elsa Slone. Pleasure to meet you."

"Kristoff Nord. I've heard a lot about you," he said, smiling warmly.

"Good things, I hope," she turned to look and smile at Anna who blushed and turned her gaze to the ground. "Now, I'm assuming you two want to see the house? That's what you came here for, after all."

"Sounds good!" Kristoff agreed, his girlfriend trailing behind him as Elsa stepped aside, and they entered the building. The young man was the first to wander up the staircase, giving the blonde the chance to pull Anna to the side for a minute.

"Listen, Anna," she sighed, avoiding to look at the shorter girl's confused face, "it's really great to see you, it is. I missed you more than you could ever imagine. And…I know we've got things to work out, and I'm willing to talk with you about them, but..." she heard Anna's breathing getting caught in her throat, and she forced herself to look up, straight into the redhead's sad eyes. '_No, that's not what I was going for...' _"But can we just be friends for now?" she smiled when she saw relief washing over Anna's features.

"Of course, Elsie." she nodded eagerly, just like she used to when they were little.

"Thank you." replied Elsa, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "Now, shall we go retrieve your boyfriend before he gets lost?"

"That... That's probably a good idea..." pondered Anna, glancing at the staircase where he had disappeared.

"Alright, I'll take the left side of the house and you can take the right, okay? It's Christopher, right?"

"Kristoff, actually," she giggled, nodding, "but sounds good to me!" And with that, they were off.

After they had rounded up Kristoff, toured the house ("This place is huge! It's like a freaking castle!"), and Anna had decided that "This place is amazing, we're moving in, I'm not taking no for an answer!", the three gathered around the kitchen table and begun to discuss how they might go about splitting the cost of the house and such. Between Anna and Kristoff, economics was the latter's forte (if you could call it that), so Anna simply sat there with that same goofy smile plastered on her face, unable to stop staring at Elsa. Elsa, who had grown out of band t-shirts and Levis 501s and was now found in white acid-washed jeans and a sky blue v-neck, topped off with a white blazer; Elsa, with her platinum blonde hair tightly plaited and draped over her shoulder (as opposed to the usual messy side braid); Elsa, with a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips as she gestured and spoke about the house in a more professional manner than Anna had ever seen her.

The more Anna thought about Elsa, however, the more she could feel her initial enthusiasm fade, and her smile falter. She blinked once, turning her eyes away from her best friend ('Former _best friend,'_ she scolded herself), and training them on the edge of the table. She didn't know how much time had passed until she was snapped out of her trance by someone calling her name.

"Huh?" she asked confused, and looked around.

"Are you okay?" asked Elsa, her eyebrows frowned in concern. "You zoned out there for a minute."

"O-Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she replied, nodding and smiling reassuringly. Elsa nodded as well, her eyes lingering on Anna for an extra moment, before tearing them away from the younger girl, and somewhat hesitantly resuming her previous conversation.

* * *

><p>Time seemed to fly by for everyone, as loud talking and laughter rang around the walls of the kitchen. Things were still more than tense, especially between Elsa and Anna, but that was nothing a little wine and a few bad, yet well-aimed jokes couldn't fix; even if temporarily. Elsa and Kristoff seemed to be getting along fine, much to Anna's content, and the blond man's doubts about moving in were vanishing as the minutes ticked by.<p>

"Anna, I think you've had enough to drink," whispered Kristoff as he caught sight of Anna grabbing the bottle of wine, ready to refill her glass for the fourth time, while Elsa had gone to the other room, in search of some papers.

"Mind your own business, Kristoff," muttered the girl, glaring at him. "Wine is the only thing keeping me from yelling at Elsa right now."

"What? I thought you guys were okay?" he asked, confusion setting in on his face.

"Okay? Oh we're hardly 'okay'," the girl took a gulp of her wine before continuing. "Do you know what she told me? That she wants us to be friends!"

"And this is bad because…?"

"Because she wants to be friends without telling me what the fuck happened all those years ago, and why she acted like I never existed!" despite the hushed tone of Anna's voice, Kristoff could clearly hear her anger and despair. "She can't just expect everything to be perfect in the blink of an eye, right? I'm not the one being unreasonable here... _Right_?" Anna took Kristoff's silence as a sign to keep talking. "Thing is, I want to have her back in my life like _so _so much, but at the same time, it feels weird, and out of place. Like something's not right, you know?"

"Probably the fact that you haven't talked to each other in four years," Kristoff muttered, but the young redhead simply ignored him and huffed, sipping from her glass one more time.

"Okay," came Elsa's voice from the doorway a few moments of silence later, causing Anna's head to snap at her direction. "I think that's everything, but I'm not sure. Hans is usually the one in charge of these things, so…" she continued, making her way to the couple, and placing a small pile of papers on the table for them to look through.

"So Elsa," started Anna, eying the platinum blonde girl as she sat back down, "where is this infamous Hans? Don't we get to meet him?"

Elsa's already pale face went even paler as she looked at Anna, a hint of sadness and... was that fear… in her eyes. "He's um… He's out. Working. He'll… He'll be home soon…" she cleared her throat nervously, and smiled awkwardly at Anna as her hands fiddled with her braid.

"Okay, then," Anna smiled back, not wanting to make things more tense than they had to be, and turned her attention to Kristoff. "Alright, Mr. Nord. This," she pushed the papers over to him, "is your area of expertise. If you can call it that. Enlighten us!"

Kristoff rolled his eyes as he started examining the papers. They were mostly contracts, and he was pretty sure that the only person who would actually know what to do with them was Hans.

"God dammit, fucking key!" an obviously angry voice came from the other side of the door, followed by a loud banging noise that made everyone jump in their seats. "Elsa!" the voice called again. "Come here and let me in!" Anna's eyes immediately turned to face Elsa whose eyes had gone wide, and whose hand was clutching her glass so tightly, it looked ready to shatter. The blonde, however, showed no intention of moving.

"Elsa!" the man shouted again, this time banging at the door with what Anna assumed was his fist. Elsa blinked once, a stony expression setting on her face as she rose gracefully, and made her way to the doorway. She opened the door softly, and quickly stepped outside, closing it again behind her.

Anna and Kristoff could hear muffled voices coming from the other side of the closed door, but they couldn't understand what was being said. They only caught glimpses of phrases like "we have company", "a couple for the ad", and a slightly louder, yet still muffled "I don't care, get them out of my house". The couple eyed questioningly one another, both raising their shoulders simultaneously, but not speaking a word. Suddenly, the door clicked open, and Elsa walked back inside, followed by an auburn haired man, with a pair of the most ridiculous-looking sideburns Anna had ever seen. He seemed happy though. Not at all like the brute who was close to bringing the whole door down just a minute ago.

"Well hello," he said cheerfully, and Anna and Kristoff just stared at him. "Won't you introduce me to your friends, Queenie?" he turned to Elsa who was standing a couple of feet away from him.

"Queenie?" came Anna's question before the girl had time to stop herself.

"Why yes," replied the man, wrapping an arm around Elsa's waist, and holding her tightly pressed against his side. "I call her that because she's my little queen. Aren't you Elsa?"

"Yes," the blonde mumbled, looking up at him and smiling slightly. "This is… Um… This is Anna and Kristoff. They read the ad," she added hastily, squirming faintly in the man's grasp.

"I see," he said, removing his arm from around her waist, and extending it for a handshake. "Hans Resnekov," he greeted, and both Anna and Kristoff practically jumped to their feet.

"Kristoff Nord," Kristoff, who was the first to react, introduced himself, and shook the other man's hand firmly. "And this is my girlfriend, Anna," he nodded to Anna's direction, who seemed rather small between the two men.

"Anna…?" asked Hans, looking at her expectantly.

"Huh?" the young redhead tilted her head questioningly, her hand still wrapped around the man's.

"Anna what? You can't be just Anna," Hans said chuckling slightly.

"Oh, Anna Redford…? I'm sure Elsa has told you a lot about me," she replied, smiling widely at Elsa. Her smile immediately faltered however, when she saw the blonde girl purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Nope," he said, he too turning to look at Elsa. "Is there something you want to share, Elsa?" he asked, his mouth smiling, but his eyes cold as stone.

"Anna and I used to be very close during my high school years," the young blonde simply stated. "We… We drifted apart when I went to college…" That was all she said, and that was all Anna needed to hear for a piece of her heart to shatter. Not only had Elsa cut all ties with her for no apparent reason, she obviously hadn't even mentioned her to Hans. A hurt, and somewhat offended look settled on the girl's face as she turned her attention back to Hans.

"Yeah… Pretty much…" mumbled Anna, and tore her eyes away from the blonde. "Pleased to meet you," she added in a quiet voice, shook Hans' hand, and smiled a small, polite smile.

The man nodded, letting go of Anna's hand. "So I hear you're here for the house?" he asked as he took a seat at the table. '_Elsa's seat,'_ Anna noticed, but remained silent. "We'll be more than happy to have you two around, won't we Queenie?"

"What?" came Elsa's voice from behind them. "Oh, yes. Yes, of course," she nodded, and smiled warmly at the couple. "More than happy."

* * *

><p>"Okay, then. I think that's all you need to know for now," stated Hans as he straightened the papers that were scattered on the table in front of him. "Any questions?"<p>

"Not really, no," Kristoff replied, rubbing his eyes. The four of them had been sitting around the kitchen table longer than any of them would care to admit, the wine long gone.

"I think we're good," said Anna as she tried to stifle a yawn. "We should go," she mumbled, turning to her boyfriend. "We have a long way ahead of us, and I have to go to work tomorrow."

"Nonsense!" Hans exclaimed suddenly, causing Elsa to yelp. "You're staying for dinner. It's not even eight o'clock yet."

"We really do have to go," insisted the redhead, and cursed inwardly when her stomach rumbled as if on cue.

"Oh, but I insist. Queenie will cook something for all of us. Might as well practise your cooking skills if you want that promotion, eh?" he said, winking playfully at the blonde girl who was sitting in his lap.

"Promotion?" came the question from Anna, who was squinting her eyes curiously.

"Yes," she said with a small nod. "I'm working at a local restaurant now as a sous chef. I'm getting closer to a promotion though."

"That's great," Kristoff smiled, making Elsa blush slightly.

"Thank you," she said quietly, smiling softly, and she moved to get up from Hans' lap. "You should stay," she stated looking from Anna to Kristoff and back. "I can cook something real quick, it's no big deal."

"We don't want to impose," said Kristoff, but Hans was already on his feet.

"Let's go to the living room," he said. "Leave the cook to her thing." Anna and Kristoff exchanged glances, almost as if they were having a silent conversation with each other, and, nodding at the same time, they decided to just go along with Hans and stay for dinner. Besides, that gave Anna more time to study Elsa and her strange behaviour.

As the two of them started making their way to the living room, Hans made sure to stay a little behind. "Utter a word to anyone, especially that annoying redhead you call your friend, and you will regret it," he hissed in Elsa's ear, who was standing over the sink, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. A faint, barely noticeable nod came from the blonde girl, but no word was spoken as Hans wrapped his fingers around her delicate neck, squeezing it slightly as some kind of warning. "Good," he whispered and let her go, already turning around and exiting the kitchen, a smug smile plastered across his face. Elsa released a breath she had involuntarily been holding, and blinked back a couple of unshed tears.

* * *

><p>"Dinner was lovely, Elsa," came the voice of a seemingly very content Anna, who wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.<p>

"It was only mac and cheese," muttered the blonde, but the younger girl waved her off.

"Lovely mac and cheese," she chimed in, making Elsa chuckle slightly, her cheeks turning pink.

"I agree with Anna in this one," said Kristoff. "If your mac and cheese tastes this good, I can only imagine how good the more elaborate food you cook tastes."

"Thank you," the blonde replied, smiling.

"Anyway," continued the blond man after a moment of silence, and stretched in his chair, "as lovely a time we've had, we really should go now." He swiftly got up, Anna following right behind him.

"Yeah… I mean, I have to work tomorrow, and probably so do you guys, so…" said Anna, looking at the couple in front of her. They both smiled and nodded. Hans was the first to rise from his seat, and he quickly moved to help Elsa up as well. He winked at Anna, who playfully elbowed Kristoff, indicating that "that's what a true gentleman should do, you big brute", causing everyone to chuckle, some more forced than others, as Anna noted.

"There's a motel if you want to spend the night," Hans offered with a smile on his face that looked far too happy.

"Nah…" Anna shook her head. "I have to work tomorrow, and it's like what? A two-hour trip?" she turned to Kristoff for confirmation, and he nodded. "A two-hour trip back to the hotel, so we should be going." Hans didn't insist any further, and neither did Elsa, much to the young redhead's dismay. '_Why do I even want her to tell me to spend the night in a dubious motel?' _the girl wondered silently, as she was led to the front door by both Hans and Elsa. Her eyes briefly rested on the man's arm, half-hidden behind Elsa's back, and for some reason she glared at it like it was rotten. She shook her head slightly, and blinked, thanking whichever deity was up there looking out for her, and not letting her get caught glaring at a freaking arm.

As they all said their goodbyes, Anna moved to hug Elsa again. Yes, she was still mad, and yes, she wished she had at least some answers to the questions that had been plaguing her for four years, but at that moment, all was gone. The younger girl decided that she would yell at Elsa some other time. This was a chance to be close to her again, ('_Twice in one day. Score!'_), and she was not about to waste it. Anna pulled Elsa in a hug tighter than either of them expected, and chuckled softly when she caused the blonde to yelp slightly in surprise. Hans quickly withdrew his hand when Anna's head rested on Elsa's shoulder, but not fast enough to prevent the redhead from seeing just how tightly he was clutching the other girl's shirt. He let out a quiet, relieved breath, however, when he saw that she was too lost in the moment to actually process what was happening around her.

The hug ended much too soon for Anna's taste, but judging by Kristoff's raised eyebrow when she turned to look at him, it must have lasted longer than she thought.

"Okay," the red haired girl cleared her throat, and stepped back, a toothy smile plastered across her face. "We'll be off now. We'll call you about the house!" Elsa and Hans nodded, and Kristoff took a step forward to shake hands with both of them.

"Thank you for the diner," he told Elsa, who, once again, said it was nothing, and he turned to look at his girlfriend. "Shall we?" the blond asked, and Anna nodded excitedly. No matter how happy, and mad, and beyond thrilled she had been to see Elsa after all this time, she simply couldn't wait to bury herself in her soft bed and sleep like there was no tomorrow. She felt the man's hand intertwined with hers, and she tightened her grip as they made their way downstairs, and to their car, the door slamming shut behind them.

**A/N: Thank you for reading everyone! Again, we are really sorry for the long wait (we're not even sure why there was such a long wait...). Make us happy by taking a minute off your time and reviewing :) Til next time!**


End file.
